Chencho Dema

Three state-of-the-art X-ray machines, worth Nu 7 million, were handed over to the Royal Bhutan Police (RBP) on September 10 in a move to enhance the country’s ability to detect and intercept wildlife trafficking.

WWF-Bhutan, in collaboration with the Department of Forests and Park Services (DoFPS), provided the X-ray machines to the RBP to support its efforts in combating illegal wildlife trade.

While illegal wildlife trade poses a significant threat to both conservation efforts and national biosecurity, the current screening tools at check points across the country are limited in their ability to intercept wildlife trafficking.

With the recent handover of three X-ray machines to the police, this situation is expected to improve.

The X-ray technology has high quality imaging capability and features. Around 46 police personnel were trained in operating the X-ray machine.

The Additional Chief of Police, Colonel Phub Gyeltshen, said that police officials will now be able to better identify endangered species of flora and fauna that are trafficked. “The X-ray machine will reduce the chances of them being overlooked as they were in the past,” he said.

The three X-ray machines are stationed in Nganglam, SamdrupJongkhar and Samtse checkpoints.

The Colonel said that in the past, police officials had to conduct manual searches, which often led to oversights, making it difficult to identify certain items, allowing goods to leave the country unnoticed. “Now, the chances of such mistakes are much lower,” he added.

He also said that the new system would reduce public inconvenience, as manual searches were time-consuming and caused delays.

The police officials were also trained on Forest and Nature Conservation Act 2023, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and detection of illegal wildlife trade.

The initiative is part of the ‘Countering Wildlife Trafficking through the Wildlife Crime Prevention Framework’ project, supported by WWF and the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

In 2023, 1,318 wildlife-related offenses were reported, a slight decrease from previous years—1,284 cases in 2022, 1,264 cases in 2021, and 1,917 in 2020.

Top offenses recorded between 2020-2023 include illegal timber extraction, unauthorised harvesting of non-wood forest products, and illegal fishing.

The DoFPS collected more than Nu 133 million in fines for wildlife crimes between 2020 and 2023, with th